Effect of subtracting a percent from a quantity: Subtracting 6% of A from A is equivalent to multiplying A by what factor?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: 0.94

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
When a fixed percent of a quantity is removed, the remainder is a specific fraction (or decimal) of the original. This is a routine transformation used frequently in successive change problems.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • You remove 6% of A from A.
  • We want the multiplicative factor applied to A to obtain the remainder.


Concept / Approach:
Subtracting 6% means retaining 100% − 6% = 94% of A. Converting 94% to decimal gives the multiplier.


Step-by-Step Solution:

A − 6% of A = A − 0.06A = (1 − 0.06)A.(1 − 0.06)A = 0.94A.Hence the factor is 0.94.


Verification / Alternative check:
Example: If A = 100, subtract 6% (6) leaves 94, which is 0.94 * 100.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • 9.4 and 94 are increases by factors of 10 or 100.
  • 0.094 is 9.4% of A, not 94%.
  • 0.964 is 96.4%, not 94%.


Common Pitfalls:
Misplacing decimals when converting percents to decimal multipliers. Always divide the percent by 100 to get the factor.


Final Answer:
0.94

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